Este trabalho tem o objetivo de avaliar a influência das propriedades elásticas da interface bloco-argamassa no comportamento elástico global de paredes de alvenaria. Por ser um material heterogêneo, as propriedades mecânicas da alvenaria são influenciadas pelas propriedades dos seus diferentes componentes, bloco e argamassa, e pela ligação entre eles. As juntas de argamassa constituem planos de fraqueza, desta forma, características como rigidez, direção e o estado de tensão podem influenciar consideravelmente o comportamento global e consequentemente os parâmetros de projeto. O trabalho foi composto por duas etapas, uma experimental e outra numérica. Na etapa experimental um extenso programa de ensaios foi realizado buscando avaliar as propriedades elásticas normais e tangenciais as juntas de argamassa. Nesta etapa também é apresentado um conjunto de procedimentos que possibilita a caracterização dos componentes da alvenaria de forma não destrutiva. Um estudo paramétrico foi realizado na parte numérica, permitindo identificar quais propriedades da interface exercem mais efeito sobre o comportamento elástico da alvenaria. Também foi avaliado como a heterogeneidade da alvenaria pode afetar a distribuição de ações horizontais ao longo de uma edificação. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que a interface bloco-argamassa exerce influência significativa sobre o comportamento elástico da alvenaria, entretanto esta relação depende da razão altura/largura da parede estudada. A distribuição das ações horizontais demonstrou ser bastante afetada pela deformação por cisalhamento, no entanto a consideração da interface não resultou em contribuição significativa. / This work aims to evaluate the influence of the elastic properties of unit - mortar interface in the global elastic behavior of masonry panels. As a heterogeneous material, the mechanical properties of masonry are influenced by the properties of its different components, unit, mortar, and the bond between them. The mortar joints are weakness planes, thus features like stiffness, direction and state of stress can greatly influence the global behavior and the design parameters. The study was composed of an experimental and numerical analysis. In experimental analysis an extensive test program was conducted with focus on normal and tangential elastic properties of the unit-mortar interface. In this part of the work a set of procedures that enable the characterization of the masonry components nondestructively is also presented. A parametric study was conducted in the numerical analysis, allowing the identification of which properties of the interface have a greater effect on the elastic behavior of masonry. The effect of the heterogeneity of the masonry in the distribution of lateral loads in a building was also evaluated. Results indicated that the block-mortar interface has a significant influence on the elastic behavior of masonry; however this relationship depends on the ratio aspect of the panel. The distribution of lateral loads was greatly affected by shear deformation; however the consideration of the interface resulted in no significant contribution.

Objetiva-se com este trabalho, desenvolver a modelagem matemática da dinâmica de uma transmissão mecânica do tipo fuso de esferas de um robô Gantry acionada por motorredutor de corrente alternada com inversor de frequência, considerando-se a não linearidade do atrito e da folga. Estas não linearidades dificultam o desenvolvimento de estratégias mais precisas de controle, afetando diretamente a segurança, a produtividade e a qualidade das tarefas que estes robôs desempenham, as quais estão especialmente relacionadas a aplicações industriais de alta robustez. Construiu-se o protótipo de uma junta do robô Gantry, o qual foi utilizado para fazer a aquisição de dados experimentais e posteriormente validar a modelagem proposta através de simulações computacionais. Para isso o protótipo conta com sensores de medição de deslocamentos (angulares e linear) e a utilização de um painel de comandos a partir do inversor de frequência, o qual envia os sinais de controle ao robô. O sistema de aquisição de sinais e controle é composto por uma placa dSPACE 1104 montada em microcomputador. Como resultados, tem-se a sistematização da modelagem matemática de um manipulador robótico Gantry acionado por transmissões do tipo fuso de esferas com motor elétrico de corrente alternada e inversor de frequência, a qual inclui as principais não linearidades, a proposta metodológica para identificação das não linearidades de atrito e folga, além da validação experimental do modelo que inclui as principais características de atrito em baixa velocidade. Pretende-se contribuir no desenvolvimento de modelos matemáticos eficazes para fins de projeto, de simulação e de síntese de estratégias de controle e compensação baseadas em modelo. / 109 f.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo experimental do comportamento de juntas transversais em placas de concreto simples, apoiadas sobre fundação elástica. Uma vez sujeita a tensões, provocadas tanto pelo carregamento como por empenamentos e variações volumétricas da placa, as juntas podem provocar uma redução sensível na vida do pavimento, caso não estejam devidamente dimensionadas para suportar as cargas impostas. Devido a isto, a conexão mecânica entre as placas do pavimento é fundamental para garantir uma melhor eficiência na transferência desses esforços e, consequentemente, um aumento na vida útil do pavimento. No trabalho, faixas de concreto, com dimensões de 220 cm x 60 cm e espessuras de 12 cm e 16 cm, foram ensaiadas com força monotônica até a ruína, considerando força em um dos lados da junta. O estudo analisou o comportamento do sistema placa-junta para diferentes dispositivos metálicos de transferência, sendo eles: barras de seções circulares e quadradas, placas e discos, adotando dois dispositivos por modelo ensaiado. Dois diferentes tipos de juntas foram analisados, segundo sua tipologia, como juntas serradas e juntas moldadas. Os resultados experimentais mostram que o aumento na espessura do pavimento aumenta sua capacidade resistente, para os dois tipos de junta. Já a tipologia da junta pode influenciar na força de ruína da peça, uma vez que a presença de concreto abaixo do dispositivo causa variação na rigidez vertical do conjunto, conhecida como interação concreto-barra, levando o modelo serrado a romper com uma carga superior. Os ciclos de carregamento aumentaram a propagação de fissuras sob o lado carregado, reduziram a força de fissuração em parte dos modelos, mas não reduziram sua força de ruína. O disco metálico, em função dos dados coletados, apresentou o melhor desempenho em relação aos demais, e é sugerido como o dispositivo de transferência de carga preferencial para se obter uma maior eficiência do sistema. / This paper presents an experimental study of the behavior of transverse joints in slabs of plain concrete, under elastic support. Once it subjects to tensions, caused so much by the loading as for warped and volumetric variations of the slap, the joints can cause a sensitive reduction in the life of the pavement, in case they are not properly design to support the loads forced. Due to this, the mechanical connection among the slabs of the pavement is fundamental to guarantee a better efficiency in the transfer of those efforts and, consequently, a prolongation in the useful life of the pavement. In the paper, concrete areas, with dimensions of 220 cm x 60 cm and thickness of 12 cm and 16 cm were loading frame monotonic until the rupture, in one on the sides of the joint. The study analyzed the behavior of the system slab/joint for different metallic devices of transfer, being them: dowels of circular and square sections, plates and disks, adopting two devices for model. Two different types of joints were analyzed, according to the typology, as sawed and molded joints. The tests data show that the increase in the thickness of the pavement increases in resistant capacity, for the two types of joints. Already the typology of the joints can influence in the maximum load of the model, once the concrete presence below the device causes variation in the vertical rigidity of the group, known as interaction concrete-dowel, taking the sawed model rupture with a superior load. The loading cycles increased the cracks propagation under the load side, they reduced the load crack partly of the models, but they didn\'t reduce ultimate force. The disk plate, in function of the collected data, presented the best performance in relation to the others, and it is suggested as the preferential transfer device of load to obtain a larger efficiency of the system.

This thesis stakes out to reframe the debates surrounding a widely criticised chapter in the cultural history of modern Greece: the receptions of the classical past under the Dictatorship of 21 April (also known as 'the dictatorship of the Colonels') during the period 1967 to 1973. Informed by the hermeneutics of classical reception studies, I aim to provide a new perspective on the dictatorship, one that focuses on the contemporaneity of its discursive and visual renderings of antiquity, but which departs from a conceptual framework that is dictated by the master narrative of the Cold War (by the polarisations between Right and Left). The project converges on the ideological discourses, educational policies and the mass spectacles of the Colonels, each of which has been designated as fraught with 'ancestoritis' or 'pseudoclassicism' in the literature. In breaking away from value judgments and notions of misappropriation, it is my intention that the project functions as an exercise in a critical levelling with the dictatorship's multifold classicisms. Concomitantly, I propose that in order to better understand the politics of reception of the Aprilians, which have often seemed impenetrable, it is necessary to branch out into more cross-disciplinary methods of enquiry than those that have been employed in the past. My own approach borrows analytical tools from theories of counter-intelligence, cultural studies, political theory, educational sociology and performance studies. With this exploratory patchwork, the present study hopes to contribute toward opening up a field on which it is possible to examine the dictatorship on its own terms, while taking into account the composite articulations of antiquity with power, upward social mobility, economic development, and entertainment and leisure culture in 1960s Greece.

O surgimento de juntas é inevitável em certas construções em concreto armado e para garantir que a estrutura trabalhe de forma monolítica, deve-se proporcionar uma adequada transferência de esforços entre os elementos, para isso, faz-se necessário dispor de uma emenda adequada entre os elementos. Emendas com barras retas ocupam muito espaço devido ao comprimento de traspasse necessário, dessa forma, em situações em que há uma limitação de espaço para a emenda, uma armação que constitui uma boa solução é a emenda por meio de laço, que, apesar de ter poucos estudos relacionados, vem sendo bastante difundida na construção civil. O objetivo desse trabalho é estudar o comportamento de emendas em laço em juntas de estruturas de concreto armado submetidas à tração. Para isso, realizam-se simulações numéricas no software DIANA® em modelos numéricos 3D. Inicialmente, fez-se a calibração do modelo numérico com base em ensaios experimentais da literatura, depois foi realizada uma análise paramétrica variando parâmetros geométricos das peças e da armação em laço. Os resultados mostraram que traspasses menores que o diâmetro de dobra dos laços e espaçamentos maiores que 100 mm se mostram insuficientes para a formação de bielas de compressão entre laços. Dessa forma, ao se utilizar emendas em laço em juntas de concreto armado, recomenda-se dispor as barras o mais próximo possível até um espaçamento máximo de 60 mm entre eixos, como também um traspasse mínimo igual ao diâmetro de dobra dos laços. / The appearance of joints is inevitable in certain constructions of reinforced concrete and aiming to guarantee that the structure works monolithically, it is important to provide an appropriate transfer of stresses between elements, for that, it is necessary using a proper overlapping between them. Straight bars overlappings take up too much space due to the required overlapping length, therefore, in limited space situations, a reinforcement that represents a good solution is the loop joint, which has spread a lot in civil construction, although there are very few studies about it. The aim of the present work is to study the loop joint behaviour in reinforced concrete structures under tension. In order to do so, numerical simulations with numerical 3D models are made using the software DIANA®. Initially, it was made the calibration of the numerical model based on experimental tests of the literature, after that, parametric analyses were performed, varying geometric parameters of the elements and of the loop reinforcement. The results showed that overlapping lengths smaller than the loop diameter and distances between loops axes greater than 100 mm are not sufficient for the development of compression struts between loops. Thus, when the loop joint in reinforced concrete structures is used, it is recommended that the bars are placed as near as possible until a distance between the loops axes of 60 mm and a minimum overlapping length equal to the loop diameter of the reinforcement.

<p>The Juntas Vecinales of El Alto portray a telling picture of the current process of societal change inBolivia. Formed to attend the collective needs of indigenous migrants striving to settle down on theoutskirts of the capital, the Juntas Vecinales have grown as an intrinsic part of El Alto becomingsignificant socio-political actors and part of the indigenous social movements propelling the processof change in Bolivia. Their traditional function of supervising public policy by pressuring serviceproviders to attend their demands is commonly known as the practice of social control. A functionthat was institutionalized in the nineties with neoliberal inspired citizenship reforms ofdecentralization. The dynamic relation between the informal and formal branches of social controlis particularly evident in El Alto as the Federation of Juntas Vecinales and the legal supervisinginstitution called the Vigilance Committee hold each branch. This paper presents a case study on theformal and informal actions and activities that define the current role of the Juntas Vecinales inrelevance to their history and to the political and social context of Bolivia today. My main findingpresents an unanimous rejection of the formal branch of social control and the predominance oftraditional methods of pressure actions as the only means of attending grassroots demands.</p> / MFS uppsats

The Juntas Vecinales of El Alto portray a telling picture of the current process of societal change inBolivia. Formed to attend the collective needs of indigenous migrants striving to settle down on theoutskirts of the capital, the Juntas Vecinales have grown as an intrinsic part of El Alto becomingsignificant socio-political actors and part of the indigenous social movements propelling the processof change in Bolivia. Their traditional function of supervising public policy by pressuring serviceproviders to attend their demands is commonly known as the practice of social control. A functionthat was institutionalized in the nineties with neoliberal inspired citizenship reforms ofdecentralization. The dynamic relation between the informal and formal branches of social controlis particularly evident in El Alto as the Federation of Juntas Vecinales and the legal supervisinginstitution called the Vigilance Committee hold each branch. This paper presents a case study on theformal and informal actions and activities that define the current role of the Juntas Vecinales inrelevance to their history and to the political and social context of Bolivia today. My main findingpresents an unanimous rejection of the formal branch of social control and the predominance oftraditional methods of pressure actions as the only means of attending grassroots demands. / MFS uppsats

Myanmar, an isolated country in Southeast Asia, held general elections for the People¡¦s Assembly in 2010, the first in twenty years and the second in fifty years. The military junta that has ruled the country for decades has been facing strong criticism from the international community. This research has systematically examined the historical development of the electoral laws and the overall electoral system of the Union of Myanmar (since October 2010 officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) during the period of 18 June 1989 up until the latest elections on 7 November 2011. Why did the military bother organizing elections? The latest elections were meant to give the impression that they would create a legitimate government. In reality, they were designed to preserve military rule under a façade of democracy. The junta learned a valuable lesson from the last free elections in 1990, which ended in a fiasco for the pro-junta parties, and did not leave it to the people's will in 2010. In order to effectively extend military rule, in 2008 the junta used a flawed referendum to approve a supremacy constitution, according to which the military automatically receives 25% of the seats in parliament. This constitution helped the junta impose several severe limitations on parties willing to participate in the 2010 elections, thus ensuring that the military-backed political parties would win most of the seats at stake. This thesis attempts to show the powerlessness of the masses against a system based on the creation of self-serving laws used by the ruling junta to control the society.

The Napoleonic invasion of Iberia shattered the Spanish empire in 1808. The French emperor occupied Spain and forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate the throne. Once the war against the French began, most vassals also rejected the Spanish imperial government in Madrid that had recognized the change of dynasty. The implosion of the Crown severely tested the hierarchical, centralized, and interdependent nature of the empire. Historians of the Spanish Bourbon empire have rightly argued that the invasion catalyzed the emergence of the new nations from 1810 onward. Many of them, however, have failed to notice the concurrent and extraordinary efforts to reconstitute the empire--a critical history that contextualizes the decisions Spanish Americans faced in this tumultuous period. / History

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.